JSP,
Those first rules never made any distinction between sand and soil. Waste areas are more in keeping with them than the 'modernized' rules which make the distinction between sand and soil.
Maybe it's just the superintendent in me, but I'd venture to say 90% of those playing or viewing the original photo will call that area a very large BUNKER.
Now, if they do actually claim it be a "waste area," I don't mind it near as much (though still obviously very contrived) as it should require a lot less maintenance and blur the lines between "sand and soil." However......
....besides the cart tracks, the bunker looks like it gets raked fairly often, if not daily. The islands of grass definetely look handmowed, as opposed to allowing them be billowly tufts of "natural vegetation" as would be present in a waste area. And the edge of the area look distinctly defined, as with edging or constant weedeating, unlike a waste area which should blur the line between in play turf and hazardous ground.
For all intents and purposes, the area photographed looks to be a very large, maintained bunker. In which case..........serious overkill.
Try avoiding the golfer complaints from that area......"I got a fried egg lie, can't you guys compact it better?" "There was hardly any sand in that thing...how am I supposed to hit a "sand shot?" "My ball came to rest in a cart track......do I get relief from the "cart path?"...and if not, can't you guys rake that thing more often so I can get a decent lie?" I love golfer complaints about the condition of HAZARDS. I'm just waiting for someone to ask me to keep the lake levels a little lower so they can play their ball from just off the shore should it happen to "just barely bounce in."